I just finished this book, and let me just say, I was blown away. I initially picked it up because I’m a fan of the show Love, Death, + Robots and learned that one of the episodes was based on the short Good Hunting. There’s really not a wasted word in this collection, and it’s the kind of book I’d love to hear other insight on. What did you notice? What connections did you make?
If I had to identify one overarching theme for this collection, I’d probably go with Remembrance (although surviving vs thriving is a close second). Almost every story touches on how we record our personal and collective memory, how we preserve it, protect it, pass it down, control it, distort it, destroy it. What, and who, we’re willing to sacrifice to remember (or forget).
Notable standouts to me:
— the repeated uses of certain characters outside of their original story, setting, and place in time, like Lillian and Bobby. Some stories transcend time and space
— The Waves reminded me quite a bit of The Final Question by Isaac Asimov, especially the bit near the end where Maggie turns into a god of sorts by tweaking the aliens’ genetic code. I loved how Liu wove creation myth as bedtime stories through the narrative. It was really a touching story
— I loved All The Flavors. I’m a big fan of Steinbeck’s East of Eden, and I personally feel like there is a vibe between the two works (late 18th century American West with themes of good and evil). I felt a bit like Lilly: enraptured in Lao Guan’s tale, desperate to hear how he got revenge. Great storytelling
— the final story (The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary) was a masterpiece. I’m truly in awe of it. I was aware of Unit 731 prior to the story (and those familiar with The Poppy War will be familiar with another representation of it in literature), but this story really drives home the atrocities in a way that’s just so…real. I’m a Jewish American, and I know all too well the realities and dangers of denying dark history. This was by far the toughest read in the book, but perhaps the most important
by IndigoBlueBird